Scarlet Days on Gallifrey
by AlyCat20
Summary: Two boys with intertwining destinies spend some time together, weeks before their life-changing eighth birthdays. As the best friends sit and simply enjoy each other's company, they begin to discuss what they dream of accomplishing in their future. One-shot.


**Author's Note: This is my first one-shot and my first Doctor Who fanfic, so I hope this goes well enough for my readers. And please don't get confused about which characters are which, it's just that no one knows the real names of the Doctor and the Master. Anyway, please enjoy!**

* * *

The boy awoke from the sound of a door. His eyes flashed open just in time to see the door close. As he drowsily sat up in his bed, he slowly familiarized himself with his surroundings. He was on a loft in the corner of a small barn cluttered with various tools and equipment, and there was one door in the wall to the left of the loft. A side table with a stack of books he was currently reading that month sat next to his bed. It was a peaceful night, or so it was until someone peeked inside and aroused the boy before quickly slipping away.

He heard a voice, then another. Two adults, a man and a woman, were having a conversation outside. The boy could tell that they were his guardians, and they were apparently watching over him even as he slept that night. _A bit unsettling_ , he thought. The boy leaned forward, straining to listen in. He only picked up a few phrases.

"... Eight soon," the man said.

"... Not ready," the woman replied.

The man corrected, "No... won't pass..."

"... Sure? Maybe-"

"Not skilled..."

The boy eventually figured out that they were talking about his coming of age. When every child was eight, they were taken to some sort of test, or so he heard from his friend. The guardians seemed to be talking as if he didn't even have a chance to succeed. After all, the man always scolded him for crying over things and running to the barn to hide, and he treated him like he was nothing but a disappointment. The woman was more supportive, but she still couldn't figure out how to console the poor boy. They doubted whether he had what it took. Worried, the boy shifted in his bed a little more to try and hear better. When he did, though, the old wooden floorboards of the barn loft his bed was perched on creaked noisily underneath him. The voices outside stopped. The boy sat tensely, then he heard the adults' footsteps walking farther and farther away. To his dismay, they left after hearing his clumsy move.

The boy sighed hopelessly. Now that he couldn't fall back asleep, he crept to a spot in the wall by his bed. He had secretly cut out a square in the wall so he could have his own personal window, but he covered it with a board whenever someone else came. He silently removed the board and peered out. A quiet breeze ruffled his dark hair as he gazed at the vast landscape of his world.

His lone barn sat in the middle of a vast red desert, but past the sands were lush fields. Scarlet grass swayed softly, resembling ripples of water. Beyond the meadows were patches of trees that bore shimmering silver leaves in the moonlight, and in almost any farthest direction one could look were great mountains dusted with lovely white snow. The night sky was a calming dark blue, with burnt orange at the edges. This space above was filled with countless stars, dazzling in the clear night. The boy then turned his gaze to the great city far away, a beautiful metropolis shielded by a dome, nestled in an area of the desert. He dreamed of going there someday, but for now, he was stuck in the outskirts of his civilization's region.

He glanced around his area, where a few more barns and houses were sprawled about. It made him feel lonely, except for those times spent with his friend. But whenever that friend wasn't around (he sometimes had to stay at his father's estate), the boy constantly felt the pain of solitude. Of course there were other children his age, but he was always somewhat detached from them. The woman guardian would invite him to be with them, but he never came because it wasn't like the kids would even accept him as a true friend, anyway. It didn't help what passerby said about people who lived in the outskirts, either. _No one important_ , they would retort. It always belittled the boy even more than what he already felt, but now he had enough. He would prove that he could accomplish outstanding things; he would travel the stars like no one had before. He took one last minute to gaze at the celestial bodies above, then he pulled himself back inside the safety of his barn.

* * *

"Hey."

The boy opened his eyes to find his best and only friend crouched on top of him, staring at him just five inches from his face. The boy playfully shoved him off and began to sit up, only to be pinned down again. His friend told him, "Today we're going to the meadows at my dad's place, he's letting you come! Well, not really, it's more like sneaking you in without him knowing. You must come, though, the grass is even more red over there! And you're going to stay there with me. No running off into the mountains for another one of your silly adventures."

The boy mustered enough strength to leap up and pin his cheeky friend to the bed instead. The boy replied with a smirk, "Why, because you're embarrassed from when you whined the whole time at the mountains about being tired of walking, and I nearly had to drag you all the way home?"

His friend only glared back. They childishly settled the matter over a few more moments of playfighting, then they both climbed down from the loft and dashed outside into the morning sunlight. After long journeying and secretly arriving in the field of the father's estate, the boys soon found a cozy spot in the vibrant sea of thick, high grass, and they sat themselves down to contemplate life.

The friend asked as they both stared at the grand city in the distance, "Don't you want to go there so bad?"

"Yeah," the boy answered. "But it's not my biggest dream."

His friend looked at him, stunned. "Why not?"

The boy flopped on his back and squinted at the gleaming twin suns in the sky. "I want to see the universe," he mused. He turned his head to his friend. "Don't you?"

"Eh." His friend shrugged and stared back at the city. "I'd rather lead our people some day." He smiled mischievously and continued, "Or if you fancy the stars and the cosmos, I could rule the universe."

The boy scoffed at this remark. "You just love to be bossy, yeah?" He teased. "If I had power like that, I'd use it to help people live a better life. You know, people like us. Or maybe just make others feel better."

"Well, you sure aren't making me feel better about dreaming of leading."

"Oh. Sorry."

They both giggled. His friend then sighed, "Oh, I don't know." He laid down next to the boy. "I guess we'll have to wait and see if we even pass that test in a few weeks so we're accepted. But we'll pass together, won't we?"

The boy then stroked the grass nervously, being reminded of last night's eavesdropping. Despite what he heard then, he smiled at his friend. "Definitely," he confirmed.

His friend grinned back. "Brilliant," he said. "Then we'll show the world what we can do."

The boy shut his eyes and imagined himself venturing through the wonders of the cosmos, visiting other civilizations, making new friends that could perhaps travel with him, and maybe even saving the day (it seemed far-fetched, but a child could dream). "Yeah," he spoke softly as he began to doze in the warmth of the golden sunbeams. "One day. They'll see."

* * *

 **Author's Note: I hope this was accurate according to the Whoniverse. If it's not... oh, well. I pleased myself in writing it. Please leave a review if you liked it as well!**


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